Consultancy to Conduct Mapping and Organisational Capacity Assessment of Existing and New Implementing Partners on Early Childhood Development

1.0. About ChildFund International

ChildFund is a child-focused international development organization that works in 24 countries to connect children with the people, resources, and institutions they need to grow up healthy, educated, skilled and safe, no matter where they are. ChildFund Kenya works through 11 implementing partners (IPs) (and directly implements in 2 regions) various development interventions across 26 counties in Kenya. The thematic areas that we focus on are Child Protection, Household Economic Strengthening, Early Childhood Development (ECD), Education, WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), Emergency Response, Health and Nutrition. Under ECD, ChildFund Kenya works with caregivers, communities, and the government both at the national and county levels to support responsive caregiving, child protection, and improved health and well-being of infants and young children (IYC) through systems strengthening of government and community structures to provide nurturing care for ECD interventions. Our aim is to strengthen the nurturing environment to promote protective and responsive parenting and supportive structures for early childhood development.

2.0. About the Project

ChildFund received funding to implement the Operationalization of a Strengthened Partnership for Nurturing Care project for an 8-month initial planning phase. The planning phase seeks to undertake consultations with relevant government ministries, county government departments and other stakeholders implementing nurturing care intervention at national and county levels. The consultations aim to identify opportunities for strategic collaborations to support the expansion of Nurturing Care in Kenya.

The planning phase has three objectives: 1: Review, refine and adapt the existing parenting program in alignment with the evidence-based, baseline situational analysis data and government ECD priorities in Kenya. 2: Assess potential local implementing organizations and co-develop implementation plans 3: In consultation with the Hilton Foundation and its external evaluator, finalize an evaluation plan including proposed objectives, evaluation questions, child development indicator profiles, data collection tools, and analysis plans to support the measurement of child development outcomes

3.0. Purpose of the Assessment

This assignment is purposed to actualise and achieve the second objective of the project to “assess the potential local implementing organizations and co-develop implementation plans”, ChildFund is thus seeking to engage the services of a reputable and experienced consultancy firm or individual to conduct organisation capacity assessments for 2 existing and 4 potential new implementing partners’ ability to implement ECD and Nurturing Care interventions. This will be done in consultation with the four proposed county governments.

4.0. Specific Objectives

• To identify new potential partners in the target counties through county-level engagements for the possible potential of implementing nurturing Care Interventions for an Organizational Capacity Assessment process.
• To map out and list possible partners in target counties in terms of their location, coverage, scope and interventions

5.0. Scope of Work

The organisational capacity assessment will be undertaken in the 4 proposed counties of Kisumu, Busia, Homa Bay and Nyamira and cover the following domains.

• 5.1.Governance: Areas include vision, mission, and values; organizational structure; composition of the board and responsibilities; succession planning and legal status
• 5.2. Organizational Management: Areas include strategic planning; operational plan; resource mobilization; communication strategy; knowledge management; stakeholder involvement; internal communication; change management and decision making
• 5.3. Program Management: Areas include donor compliance; sub-grant management; technical reporting; community involvement; referral mechanism; experience in implementing interventions any component of nurturing care for ECD (Good health, adequate nutrition, responsive caregiving, safety and security and opportunities for early learning) and advocacy.
• 5.4. Administration: Areas include operational policies, procedures and systems; travel policies and procedures; procurement; fixed assets control; and information systems
• 5.5. Human Resources: Areas include recruitment; staffing and staffing levels; job descriptions and staff supervision; volunteers and interns; human resource policies and procedures; and salaries and benefits.
• 5.6. Financial Management: Areas include financial systems; financial policies and procedures; internal controls; financial documentation and reporting; financial planning and sustainability; budgeting; audits and cost share
• 5.7. Project Performance Management: Areas include field oversight activities; standards; quality assurance; supervision; monitoring and evaluation.

6.0. Outputs and Deliverables

• Develop the Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA) tools focusing on the domains, objectives and sub-objectives listed above.
• Administer the OCA assessment tools to the potential partners including the Lake Region Development Program, Western Children’s Community Program, Board of Directors and the Secretariat
• Conduct field visits and physical verification of the feedback in the offices of the partners
• Conduct consultations with relevant county and sub-county government departments in the proposed counties
• Conduct an initial data consolidation from the findings and develop an organizational capacity plan
• Provide leading facilitation of the development of organizational capacity strengthening and building plans for the priority areas
• Compile and finalize an assessment report and share it with ChildFund

7.0. Qualifications of Consultant (s)

Consultants/ research institutions and individuals interested in conducting this consultancy should have the following qualifications:

• Knowledge, experience and expertise of civil society organization (CSO) undertaking the organizational capacity assessment.
• At least a Masters/PhD degree in a relevant discipline i.e., Social Sciences, Development Studies, Management, Organizational Development or related field
• Proven experience in organizational capacity assessment and reviews in Kenya.
• Experience in research and data collection
• Knowledge of Early Childhood Development with a focus on components of nurturing care namely good health, adequate nutrition, child protection for IYC, responsive caregiving and opportunities for early learning.
• Fluency in spoken and written English and Swahili. Knowledge of Dholuo, Abaluhya, Abagusii and Abakuria languages is an added advantage.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Experience in leading and facilitating participatory processes.
• Ability to manage multiple, complex tasks being undertaken concurrently.
• Ability and capacity to conduct virtual meetings and interviews
• Experience in conducting key informant interviews and focus group discussions.
• Ability to analyse, interpret and synthesize information from several sources.

8.0. Management and Coordination

The key people that the consultant will be working closely with at ChildFund include the Technical Specialist in Early Childhood Development and Monitoring & Evaluation Manager. The management of the day-to-day activities in the field will be supported by the Project Coordinator, M&E Officer and Project Officer.

9.0. Work plan & Timelines The evaluation is expected to take 30 working days from the 19th to 14th October 2022. Specific timelines applicable to the mapping and assessment will be agreed upon during the inception meeting.

10.0. Application Process To apply the consultant(s) should submit an Expression of Interest of not more than 25 pages. This should contain:

• The consultant’s understanding of the TOR; approach to undertaking the assignment, and consultant’s qualifications for meeting the requirements of the evaluation.
• Proposed technical approach, the work plan of planned activities and financial proposal quoted in Kenya Shillings for the whole assignment including professional fees, logistical costs and taxes
• CV of the lead consultant and any other personnel to be involved in the assignment
• Interested candidates should submit their Expression of Interest through [email protected]. An evaluation of the proposals will be made by ChildFund Kenya who may engage in an interactive process with the consultant to further specify the scope and methodology to be used as well as budget, deliverables and deadlines. Target date for contract award is 19th September 2022.

11.0. Payment process

Payment upon submission and acceptance of the inception report to ChildFund 30% Payment upon submission and acceptance of the final report to ChildFund Kenya 70%

NB: The Consultant’s compensation shall be paid NET, within 30 days from receipt of a proper invoice unless otherwise specified. Payment will be made through direct bank transfer otherwise specified. The payment shall be subjected to 5% withholding tax and 16% VAT tax as required by the Law at the time of payment.